The hormone that helps you heal, lose weight, and feel great!

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Did you know that there is a hormone that boosts your immune system, wound-healing, longevity, digestion, and weight loss?
It turns out that oxytocin, also known as the love hormone or bonding hormone, has a greater impact on our health than it’s gotten credit for.

Here are some benefits of stable oxytocin levels:

  • Reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol
  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Improved blood sugar levels and weight loss (reduce emotional eating and help reduce appetite)
  • Improves gut motility and decreases intestinal inflammation (Both oxytocin and the receptor site for oxytocin have been found in the intestinal tract!)

A little more on that inflammation point, Dr. Michael Gershon, author of The Second Brain (a great book detailing how the gut works) and chairman of the department of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia University, found that oxytocin reduces gastrointestinal inflammation. Besides being painful, intestinal inflammation can also contribute to:

  • Food sensitivities
  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Systemic infections within the gut, imbalances in your gut flora

So oxytocin is a healing hormone! And the great news is that you stimulate production of oxytocin when you:

  • Give and receive hugs (20 seconds long is best! And aim for 8 per day)
  • Express genuine gratitude
  • Express love
  • Give a gift or do something nice for someone
  • Talk with a friend (in person or on the phone)
  • Take a walk (in nature is best)
  • Listen to music you love
  • Laugh out loud
  • Have orgasms
  • Get a massage
  • Pet a pet

I’m excited for you to get into the routine of boosting your oxytocin levels and start feeling even healthier and more vibrant.

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca

Why fish oil is the worst supplement you can take

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Fish oil is the #1 top selling dietary supplement currently on the market. Americans spend 1 billion dollars a year fish oil supplements because we think it is improving our heart health, brain health, and reducing inflammation.

Today I’d like to share how we have been misled when it comes to the benefits of fish oil and how it is actually harmful for your health. I encourage you to watch this video where Dr. Brian Peskin, medical scientist from MIT, discusses exactly why fish oil supplementation is NOT the miracle supplement we’ve been led to believe. Personally, I was mortified to learn that:

  • People using this supplement experienced a dramatic rise in diabetes, autoimmune system problems, and cardiovascular issues.
  • Overuse of this supplement produces harmful effects that mimic long-term steroid use.
  • Over 15,000 studies ALL SHOW this supplement fails to work.

This research isn’t brand new, but hasn’t gained traction until now.

Here are some reasons to reconsider taking fish oil supplementation or talk with your doctor right away if they recommended supplementation for you.

  1. Shortens lifespan. Fish oil oxidizes or becomes damaged at room temperature. When we take in concentrated amounts of fish oil from supplements, versus small quantities from seafood, it introduces large quantities of damaged oil into your body. This damaged oil starts to damage your cells and decrease the ability of your cells to function properly. Your antioxidants, like Vitamin C and E and glutathione, spring into action to try to protect your cells, but they get depleted in the process. When your antioxidants get depleted, they aren’t available to protect you effectively against other kinds of cellular damage from the environment, toxins or even cancer cells.
  2. Speaking of cancer, a study from Harvard that was published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute also found that taking fish oil supplements led to increases in prostate cancer.
  3. Repeated studies find that “Omega-3 supplements did nothing to reduce heart attacks, strokes, or deaths from heart disease for folks with increased risk.”
  4. Fish oils and Omega-3 supplements are very processed and prone to oxidative damage.

If your head is swarming right now, I know exactly how you feel. This is discouraging and disappointing news. However, it’s also a blessing in disguise and empowering to learn what actions you can take to protect yourself.

So if you’re not going to take fish oil, what could you do instead?

For starters, eat real, whole food including seafood, walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, eggs, and algae. Sophisticated as many supplements are, we repeatedly discover that they just aren’t as good as what nature come up with. The way that foods deliver health benefits to your body is superior than relying on supplements to do the work.

We have repeatedly found that when we try to extract the part of the food or plant that seems to contain the “cure all”, we miss the mark. Now, I’m not saying that supplements aren’t helpful, they absolutely can be, but food is powerful medicine.  Make the best food choices that you can rather than mediocre food choices and lots of supplements.

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca

 

 

Meatball Soup

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This recipe is very customizable! Make about 6 quarts of beef stock in advance (cook beef bones in a large pot of water for 12 hours with a little vinegar or lemon juice to help release the minerals from the bones).

Use whatever blend of ground meats you prefer (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, buffalo, venison, ostrich, goat). I used the following ingredients, but this soup is delicious no matter what! 🙂

Ingredients for meatballs:

Mix the following in a large bowl:

  • 1.5 pounds grass-fed beef
  • 1 pound pastured pork
  • 1 pound ground “pet food” (ground beef and ground organ meat)
  • 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 T italian herbs (blend of rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil)
  • 1 T red chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seed
  • Optional, egg to bind the meatballs if they seem dry when you are forming them.

For the soup:

  • 6 quarts beef bone broth
  • 2 large carrots, 4 stalks celery, 1 zucchini, 1 large red bell pepper, 1-2 cups mushrooms.
  • Large can crushed tomatoes (organic preferred)
  • 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1-4 cups leafy greens of choice
  • Optional: Chives, onion and garlic to taste

How to:

Form golfball sized meatballs and drop into soup stock, medium heat. Add a large can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, 1 bunch of Italian parsley (finely chopped), chives or onion and garlic to your tasting preference (it’s also perfectly tasty without them). Add your favorite vegetables, chopped into bite-sized pieces and cook for 45 mins. For the last 10 minutes its cooking, add some spinach or other leafy greens (kale, chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens).

Serve in a bowl and top with parmesan cheese (optional).

Enjoy!